Electric car pilot scheme for hospital staff

Laura Cooke

Medical staff who have to travel between Eastbourne’s DGH and the Conquest Hospital could soon be making the journey by electric car under a new pilot scheme unveiled by the hospital trust.

The East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust had been exploring the possibility of setting up a shuttle service between the two sites for patients and staff.

However following an extensive consultation, it was decided this would be too expensive for the cash-strapped trust to run.

Instead, staff who have to travel between both sites for clinical reasons are to be given electric cars under a new pilot scheme announced by the trust.

Speaking at a meeting of the ESHNHST on Tuesday morning (January 24), Dr Adrian Bull, chief executive of the trust, said: “There has been a review into transport which included surveys of patients and members of staff.

“It would not be affordable to put on a specific shuttled between Hastings and Eastbourne hospitals.”

However, the trust hopes that by rolling out the electric car pilot, fewer members of staff will be parking on the hospital sites, freeing up more parking spaces for patients and visitors.

No further information about the pilot scheme has been released at this stage.

Meanwhile Dr Bull says there are plans to publicise public transport links between the two sites in more detail, once a solution has been found to the Southern strikes.

He said: “The whole issue of transport has been bedevilled by the train strikes.

“Once that’s been settled, we are going to put more information about public transport links to the hospitals.”

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